Possible rematch with Nick Diaz? Ex-UFC champ Carlos Condit weighs in

Carlos Condit has heard fans call for a rematch with Nick Diaz, and if Diaz comes out of retirement, he’s game.

The former UFC interim welterweight champion told MMAjunkie.com Radio (www.mmajunkie.com/radio) that he first plans to shore up weaknesses in his wrestling game over the summer. After that, he’d like a fight in Las Vegas.

“I want to be in good fights with a lot of hype and a lot of buzz, and a rematch with Diaz and myself would interest a lot of folks,” Condit said.

Condit (28-7 MMA, 5-3 UFC) and Diaz (26-9 MMA, 7-6 UFC) fought to a highly controversial decision at UFC 143, with Condit emerging with a unanimous decision to claim the interim title put up for grabs when undisputed champ Georges St-Pierre was benched with a torn ACL.

Eight months later, Condit met St-Pierre in a title-unification match at UFC 154 and lost via decision. A return fight saw him lose another judges’ call when Johny Hendricks outpointed him at UFC 158 earlier this year.

Against St-Pierre, he gave up takedown after takedown. Hendricks’ early-fight surge lost steam in later rounds as Condit pressed the pace, but again, wrestling ultimately swayed the scorecards as his back repeatedly hit the canvas.

Given the shape of his past two fights, Condit is targeting some time off to improve.

“I had a couple of fights, back to back,” he said. “So honestly, I’m probably just taking the summer doing some traveling and some training – obviously, a big aspect of my game I need to work on. My last two fights were basically lost due to the wrestling. So I’m really focusing on that before I get out there again.”

With that said, he welcomes the opportunity to again fight Diaz, who briefly retired after his loss to Condit. Fans criticized his gameplan, saying he spent more time running than engaging with Diaz. Plus, Diaz is a major star despite coming up short in two UFC title opportunities.

Of course, Diaz’s career plans remain a question mark after he retired (again) following a loss to St-Pierre in the headliner of UFC 158.

Could Condit convince him to get back in the cage?

“The fight was a close fight,” Condit said. “It was a decision. So I think we could put on a good show. It goes without saying that there was a lot of controversy after the fight. Just putting that to rest would be another reason I would like to fight.”

Condit clarified that he doesn’t have a scheduled opponent despite his desire to return in late summer or early fall. His goal, however, remains to capture St-Pierre’s title.

“I guess we’re just going to have to see how the welterweight picture shakes up here in the next couple of events, and maybe then we’ll have a better idea,” he said. “I definitely think I have another title run in me. I’m looking at making the next year or two some of my best fights. I’m trying to cement my legacy, and we’ll see where I am after that.”

For more on the UFC’s upcoming schedule, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.

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